Kenyan strife spurs S.B. man's solidarity plea

Local Kenyan: Wearing black wristband, white scarf will show support.

Local Kenyan: Wearing black wristband, white scarf will show support.

January 03, 2008|JOSEPH DITS Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- A local man, Sam Okello, is asking fellow Kenyans and friends of Kenya to wear a black wristband and white scarf today to show solidarity with a homeland where more than 300 people have died in post-election bloodshed. It coincides with a rally planned for today in Nairobi by the political party that lost the disputed election. And come 2012, Okello hopes that party, the Orange Democratic Movement, will name him as its presidential candidate. Okello could be a long shot. He self-publishes books about Kenyan issues and maintains floors at St. Paul's Retirement Community. Meanwhile, he's part of a group that's circulating a petition saying that incumbent winner Mwai Kubaki rigged the elections and that Kubaki should step down and install the ODM's candidate, Raila Odinga. Violence in Kenya has erupted since Sunday, when election officials declared Kubaki the winner. Many have lost homes or been displaced. Protesters even burned a church, killing 30 people inside, many of them children. Dan Kamau, editor of Jamhuri, a Massachusetts-based magazine for Kenyans, cautions against taking a candidate's word that he'd won the election. That only promotes anger and violence, he said. Rather, Kamau said, there needs to be an investigation into the election results. There is a lot of conflicting information out there, he said, adding, "There are so many facts that aren't being explained." He said he's not advocating for any one candidate. He recalls the disputed results in Florida in the 2002 elections in the United States. There needs to be a voice for peace, he said. The petition that Okello is promoting states: "We do not condone violence and urge all parties to avoid violence. Instead we urge for peaceful protests and negotiations and nonviolent protests." He's part of a group called the Coalition of Kenyans and Allies for Democracy. As of Wednesday, its petition had gathered almost 1,600 names of supporters from around the world via the Internet. Okello said the petition was being sent to the U.S. and British governments. Staff writer Joseph Dits: jdits@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6158